NetGalley

My heart has been heavy this week knowing that school remains a
sometimes unsafe place. Even in the most cloistered of communities,
violence
still rears its ugly head. Of the ten schoolgirls shot on Monday in a
one room schoolhouse in Amish Pennsylvania, five have since passed
away. It is believed that the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, chose
this school because it was a nearby, easy target. This whole situation
is distressing to the core of my spirit. I don’t
understand…I just don’t understand.

The Amish and Mennonite communities have always intrigued me. Their
aversion to modern things is so foreign to my contemporary-convenienced
life. But when considering how simple and grounded their lives are, it
stirrs within me a desire to somehow tap into the contentment and deep,
abiding faith they possess.

When reading continued coverage in yesterday’s USA Today, sections of this article jumped out at me. After the burial, “the grave is marked by a simple
tombstone the same size and shape as others — a reminder that even in
death, all are equal…Underscoring the whole process is a vivid
belief in a close, living God — the unseen actor who controls every
human tragedy and comedy according to a script that often defies
understanding.“

Simplistic lives.Equality in life and in death.
Belief in a close, living God.

These deep, soul searching issues are ones that I need some more time to wrap my mind…and my heart around.

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2 thoughts on “”

I’ve been struck by God’s providence in this situation. Absolutely horrendous, but yet had this happened in any other school, press about Amish beliefs certainly wouldn’t be on the front page. And heaven knows positive press about Christianity is few and far between. Despite their choice to sequester themselves from society, it’s refreshing to see them working out their faith so honestly in this tragedy.